Thursday, July 19, 2007

I'm done selling on E-Bay for a while. Partly because I've made roughly twice as much as I expected from my old Beta cards, but mostly because it's totally StReSsInG Me OuT!

Magic buyers are a lot more serious than RPG book buyers. They pay a lot for the cards and they're very particular about every little thing. I get that, but it's really hard to deal with. I got my first non-positive feedback (neutral, which isn't so bad...) and it bothers the crap out of me. I offered the guy his money back, but that wasn't good enough. Oh well...

In case you want to know what Magic cards are going for in the new millenium...Click Here (The auctions are over. I wouldn't use this blog to sell stuff.

Who in gaming doesn't respect Richard Garfield? I know I do. In the early days of Magic I think I could call him friend, though I suspect acquaintance is probably more accurate.

What strike me as interesting about Richard is, in addition to being a game design genius, is how he thinks about the way people play. (or is it the way he thinks about how people play?)

This interview really knocks it home how it thinks not only of the game, but of the gamers. In my experience, it's a rare combination.

"I also was scared of becoming a creator that wouldn't let anyone else contribute creatively. Instead, I tried [giving] the big picture for where I wanted to go and allow people to get there, creatively, on their own. I tried to offer advice and opinion rather than command, so that Magic grew with the best of many rather than the best of few."

This sort of thinking is actually both revolutionary and very rare. Many of the designers I know are vastly talented (more so than I) but often tend to be either independant maverics or a small cabal of independant maverics. The idea of allowing others to contribute to their games ranges from distasteful to horrifiying. Allowing the public to contribute, unthinkable.

Creating games that allow people to participate in front-line creative roles remains my dream. I'm not sure Richard was going there, but I think he'd appreciate the goal.

Monday, July 16, 2007

What makes a fan club cool? What makes is special? Those are the million dollar (I hope) questions. What would I be willing to do/pay to be a part of a fan club? More to the point, what would YOU do?

A fan club's duty to the fan. It should:

Identify you as a fan. You care more than the average person. Celebrate that.Provide content that only you, the real fan, wants, needs, and can get.Allows you to identify yourself as a fan in some public manner. Wave the geek-flag, as it were.Allows you to participate in the success of the thing you love.

Embrace and build your fan community. If people care, provide them an outlet for that emotion. Listen. Care back. Be your fan's greatest fan. Act on their behalf as you'd have them act on your's.